Asking Maria
by MBrabs1996
Summary: Steve wants to ask Maria something, and with the help of Tony, Pepper, and Natasha, he does just that. Please R&R.
1. Asking

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if this story isn't any good, it's 2:00 AM and I can't sleep, so I wanted to write a Steve and Maria story! It'll be a two-shot if y'all want it to be. Takes place before my story, "Falling Back"**

Steve walked into the break room at SHIELD'S main base, his eyes immediately finding Maria, who sat with Natasha and Pepper, who had taken the day off from Stark Industries under Tony's constant whining and nagging.

"Dude, just ask her already! We all know you have feelings for her, what are you afraid of?" Tony asked

"That i'll make a fool of myself and she'll laugh in my face." Steve answered.

"You will make a fool of yourself, but she won't laugh in your face. That's my job." Tony explained, and shoved Steve into the break room, watching as he nervously walked up to the three women.

"Hey, ladies. Mind if I join you?" He asked.

"Of course you can Steve. In fact, Natasha and I were just leaving." Pepper said, grabbing the redhead by the arm and dragging her out of the room, bringing her to the security room where they eavesdropped with Tony.

"So, Maria, you look nice today." Steve said, causing Maria to raise an eye brow questioningly.

"You implying something, Captain?" She asked, an accusing tone in her voice.

"No, not at all, ma'am...it's just...your hair is in a braid today...and I just meant that_" He stuttered, causing the Agent to hold up a hand to silence him.

"It's fine, Steve. I know what you meant." She answered, allowing the former soldier to relax significantly.

In the security room, the three eavesdroppers were unaware that Fury had walked in and now stood behind them with Clint.

"And just what do you three think you're doing?" Fury asked.

"Watching Capsicle attempt to ask Maria out...want some popcorn?" Tony asked, holding out the bowl for Fury, only for the archer to take it and sit down between the billionaire and Natasha.

"Ms. Potts, you too?" Fury asked.

"What? We're playing match maker. Nat and I needed to give Maria and Steve their privacy." She answered.

Fury sighed and pulled a chair over next to the blonde, sitting down to watch one of his best agents and the lead Avenger talk, quite reluctantly too, but was curious to see how it would turn out.

Oblivious to the fact they were being watched, Maria and Steve continued to make small talk.

"Maria, I would like to ask you something."

The young woman nodded, looking at him with curious, gray eyes.

"I'm listening."

"Well, you see...I was...uh...I wanted to...you see..." Steve stuttered, making Maria cover her mouth to hold back her laughter.

****Security room****

"Poor guy, he's dying out there." Tony said.

"Shh!" Natasha and Clint said, causing Pepper and Fury to roll their eyes.

"Why am I not at work?"

"Yeah, who is running my company, Pep, since you're 'sick'?"

Natasha reached over and slapped Tony upside the head, causing him to glare at her as she smirked and turned back to the monitor.

****Break room****

"Oh my God, Steve, just spit it out!" Maria ordered, after more than five minutes of trying to contain her laughter.

"Would you like to..go out to dinner tonight?" He asked.

"Like...as a date?" She asked, caught slightly off guard.

The soldier nodded.

"Yeah, I really like you, Maria...a lot...what do you say?"

"Well, I like you too, Steve, it's a date."

****Security room****

"She said yes!" Pepper exclaimed, high fiving Natasha as if they were teenage girls who had just made the cheerleading squad.

"Never thought Capsicle would go through with it. How long do you think it'll be until she moves into the tower?" Tony asked.

"I give it a week...two tops, Nat?" Clint asked.

"I give it three months, maybe four, it depends on how serious they are about this. Pepper?"

"I'm not getting involved. Neither is Fury."

"Party poopers, well, i'm betting marriage, this is spangles we're talking about."

Everyone nodded in agreement, all except Fury, who got up to leave.

"Where you going?"

"To get my rocket launcher." Fury said, leaving the room.

"Ooh. Steve's in trouble with papa bear.."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Would y'all like me to make this a two shot? Please review :)**


	2. The Date

**A/N: Here's the next part to this story! Enjoy!**

Maria sat on the bed in her room while Natasha and Pepper went through the wardrobe trying to find the perfect outfit for her to wear.

"Something tells me Fury won't be happy I left an hour early." She said, sitting cross legged on her queen sized bed, flipping through a magazine.

"He'll get over it." Natasha said, picking out a strapless, simple, green dress that went down to just above Maria's knees.

"Woah, we didn't know you had this. Why have you never worn it?" Pepper asked, taking the dress to see for herself. It was a beautiful dark green, strapless dress that would fit the small woman perfectly. The dress had white ruby rhinestones just under where the breasts would be that went all the way around to the zipper.

"Never had the chance, I guess." Maria said, looking up from her magazine.

"Well, you have a chance tonight, put it on." The assassin ordered, throwing the dress and a strapless bra at the twenty-five-year-old.

Meanwhile, Tony and Clint were with Steve back at the tower.

"Here, put this on." He ordered, throwing a blue pollo shirt and black slacks at the twenty-seven-year-old.

"You know I can get myself ready, right?" Steve asked.

"No you can't, it's your first date, and you should be thankful Tony and I are getting you ready instead of Fury. Seeing as the man has a rocket launcher hidden in his closet and he was about ready to blow your head off." Clint explained, helping the soldier shrug on a sports coat.

Steve sighed and continued to get ready, following every order Tony and Clint gave him.

**With Maria and the girls**

"So, where are we going anyway?" She asked as they waited in the living room of Maria's house for the men.

"Babbos Ristorante. Tony's giving Steve his credit card." Pepper answered.

"Oh, fancy." Was all the other woman said, getting her black stiletto heels from under the coffee table.

The three women were startled by a knock on the door, only to realize it was Tony and Clint with Steve. As she answered the door, Steve's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he looked Maria up and down.

"You look beautiful, Maria." He managed to choke out, Clint patting him on the back reassuringly.

The Agent gave a small smile.

"You don't look so bad yourself."

"Ready to go?" He asked, holding his hand out for Maria to take.

Maria nodded, taking his hand gently in hers, as not to make him any more nervous, and they turned around to leave.

"Wait! Turn around!" Tony ordered.

Confused, the two turned their heads, nearly blinded by a camera flash.

"Gotta get all of Capsicle's important moments on camera."

Steve rolled his eyes as he and Maria left, getting in the silver sports car that they had arrived in, courtesy of Tony letting him borrow it.

"They grow up so fast."

Now it was Pepper's turn to roll her eyes as they all went to sit down in the living room, waiting for their friends to return home.

**Le restuaraunt (I skip around a lot lol)**

Maria and Steve sat in the restaurant engaging in small talk, casually sipping their wine.

"So, Maria, tell me about yourself." Steve said awkwardly.

"Well, i'm twenty-five, turning twenty-six on April 1st, my mother died giving birth to me and my father always resented me for it, eventually neglecting and abusing me as time went on, he always adored my older brother, but whenever he tried to stick up for me, Dad would turn on him. turning to alcohol. Eventually when I got out of the marine corps, Fury recruited me to be a second in command of sorts. I haven't spoken to my father since then, last time I saw him, shortly before graduation, he was in rehab for his alcohol problems. He was a nice, loving, man when he wasn't drinking, and when he was, he was abusive. That was almost every night since mom died. He'd be sober when I would leave for school, and he'd act like the loving man he was before I was born. Then i'd get home he'd be gone, either at work or a nearby bar. Then he'd come home later that night and it'd start all over again. He promised me he'd be a better dad once he get's out of rehab, but i'll believe it when I see it. I haven't spoken to him or my brother for almost five years" She explained, finishing the last bit of wine as the food arrived.

"Would you like anything else?" The waiter asked, eyeing Maria from the corner of his eye.

"No thank you." Steve said, grabbing the woman's hand reassuringly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She shrugged.

"It's fine, I try not to dwell on the past. He's trying and that's all that matters. Although, I did struggle with depression and self-harm, but I beat it when I turned eighteen and left home for good. I haven't really cut or been depressed since. Once in awhile, I find myself returning to that scared, depressed teenager, and pick up a razor or knife, tempted to do it again. But for the most part, I try to look at the present and future, not the past. Enough about me, what about you?"

Steve sighed.

"Well, I was born on July 4th,1915, I had three siblings. Two older brothers and a little sister. I joined the Army to fight in the second world war when I was about eighteen or so, in 1944, when I was twenty-nine, I had to land the plane we were flying in the water, and that's how I became frozen for seventy-years. I don't remember much before that, except that my parents died when I was young, just barely a teenager. My siblings searched for me...my body, until the day they died. I woke up, and I was told we won. Never told me what we lost though." He explained, his blue eyes boring into Maria's gray ones. They were the most beautiful shade of gray he had ever seen, a really light gray, almost looking white or smoky.

"You've come a long way since then, Steve, and I will help you adjust to this new world. I promise." She said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, taking a bite of her pasta.

Throughout the rest of the night, they talked until they decided it was time to head back for Maria's place, before they sent a search party to look for them, arriving back just before midnight.

"I had a great time tonight, Steve." She said, leaning in close so that their lips were nearly touching.

"I did too, Maria. Maybe we can do it again sometime." He said, pressing his lips to hers, both unaware that the others were watching.

"Aww" The group chorused from the open door way, while Tony whistled, watching as the agent and soldier pulled away, blushing.

"Well, I gotta get Steve home, it's passed his bed time." Tony said as he and Clint left and everyone rolled their eyes, leaving just the girls.

"So, how was it?" They asked.

"Amazing, he's such a nice guy, I don't know how I never saw it before." Maria answered, sitting down on the couch, exhausted.

"Since when did we become the stereotypical teenage girls?" Natasha asked.

"Since it's Maria and Steve...tell us more."

"Tomorrow." Maria said, and walked up stairs to retire for the evening leaving Pepper and Natasha to fall asleep on the pull out couch, too tired to go to any of the extra bedrooms.

Pepper pulled out her phone, quickly texting Steve, anxiously wanting to know more.

Hey Steve, how was your date with Maria?

~Pepper

It was great. If you put aside her cold nature, she's actually a sweet woman. She's been through a lot too. The embarrassment in the break room earlier was worth it, Pep. Goodnight.

~Steve

_He knows how to text? _She thought, but pushed it aside when she realized how tired she was and fell asleep, happy to know Steve and Maria found each other.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


End file.
